New Amsterdam Red Light District Tour“The Red Light District Exposed”The tour meets daily at 6:45 pm next to the Tourist Information Center directly in front of Centraal Staation. Look for the guides wearing red New Europe T-shirts. €10 Adults/€8 StudentsNow I’m not usually a real big fan of “tours” and the whole “tourist” “sightseeing” parts of travelling. I usually like to explore on my own. But this tour was very affordable and had an incredible tour guide who knew her history of the district and was extremely helpful with orientation to Amsterdam. I couldn’t recommend any other tour “more” other than the accompanying “free” tour of Amsterdam each morning by the same company. They market the tour as “The Red Light District Exposed” and they certainly do an incredible job talking about every sensual or creepy corner of the district. They advertise with “Intrigued by the Red Light District at night but don’t feel safe exploring it on your own?” and they perfectly show the area for its beauty, intrique, history, and that its quite safe – with a two hour walking tour wandering from coffee shops and jazz clubs to sex theaters and smart shops, prostitute windows, and condom shops, ending with free shots and cocktail specials at the infamous Belushi’s bar. The guides take you to the Proefokaal and other Historic Bars, the World’s first Stock Exchange, a stroll through China Town, window gazing at the Condomerie, to the Old Church, Jazz legend Chet Baker’s place of death, the Warmoestraat: hardcore leather neighorhood, S&M Specialist, Smart Shops and a talk about Mushrooms, visits to the Sex Shops, Video Cabins, the Elite Streets, The Bulldog: Amsterdam’s first “Coffeeshops”, The Prostitution Information Center, the Word’s first Sex Theater, the Newmarket, and many more intriguing locations. On the eve of April 8, 2009 – we were luckily blessed with a fabulous guide named “Stacey”. Stacey was born in Russia, has lived in Canada, the US, Italy, and Malaysia, and now Amsterdam. She’s studying Art History and completing her degree in Asian Studies. Friendly, courteous, and extremely intelligent, she’s one of the best guides on the planet. The tour is worth the 10 Euro just to pick her brain about great places to eat, see, and experience nightlife. Top rating 5 stars out of 5. Thanks Stacey!!! Continue reading New Amsterdam Red Light District Tour→

Onward the adventurers met with the tour guide leading them through the Red Light District on a spectacular tour learning the history of the sex trade, industry, prostitution, and cannabis culture of Amsterdam. The adventurers met some amazing new friends from around the world as well while exploring the darker and redder side of the city. At the end of the tour, those who wanted to, went into the Belushi Bar for their free shots of Jager and some happy hour specials. New friends from Ireland, Australia, Britain, and France … the adventurers chatted, drank, and headed over to a cafe later before figuring out how to get back to the Zeeburg hostel. Hungry, the hostelers dropped into a restaurant for some fries with a tasty peanut satay sauce. In process, two charming sisters introduced themselves as Karolien and Kristien who tried to pursuade everyone off to dancing to celebrate Karolien’s successful interview. Only Sir Thomas Leaf took them up on the offer. The three of them piled into a taxi and was off to the heart of Amsterdam. The original club that Karolien wanted to take them to was closed, so they went to another decent sized club playing “Techno Light” which appears to be a common popular music type in Holland. Dancing and drinking …. the trio had a blast. When Sir Thomas Leaf made it back to the hostel, it was the wee hours of the morning, and he quickly passed out. His daughter princess Breanna didn’t even wake.

Red Light District, Amsterdam, The Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Wallen
One of the more notorious attractions to Amsterdam where sex can be shopped for in a variety like flavors of gelato in a gelateria. All puns aside, besides the museums and coffee shops, the district is one of the biggest tourist stops in the city. It is also an area in danger of being closed down, as wealthy financiers outside of Amsterdam are buying out the windows and replacing the women in the windows with tacky clothing fashion. The term “red light district” is not unique to Amsterdam. The term “red light” comes from the red lanterns that railway workers carried often left outside brothels when the workers entered so they could be located quickly for any needed train movement, or for red paper lanterns (thought to be sensual) hung outside brothels in ancient China to identify where one could go. Red has always been associated with prostitution, as early as in the biblical story of Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, who aided the spies of Joshua and identified her house with a scarlet rope to save her household from the massacre. The Red Light District in Amsterdam, the “De Wallen” or “Walletjes” or “Rosse Buurt” is a designated area for legalized prostitution and the sex industry. It is also one of the world’s largest and most well known Red Light Districts. A network of roads and alleys with several hundred small, one-room apartments (300+) that are rented out by sex workers who offer their services from behind a window or glass door.

Looking over the maps, the weary travellers decided against hiking across town to the City center. Sir Thomas Leaf bought the pair some 24-hour Metro tickets so they could hop the bus and trains unlimited for the next 24 hours. The hostel recommended taking the bus, so the duet hopped on the bus, and was blessed with the driver not stamping the tickets, giving it more of a boost of a timeline when they could use it. Now the quest for the sacred key of life is amongst the living. No longer to focus on the crypts and the deceased, but rather amongst the aspects of the living, and that which gives life energy. What form shall the key hold? Only time will tell.

Venturing around the streets, into the Red Light District, along the canals, and into the City Center – where a amusement park was setup in front of Madame Tussaud’s House of Wax. To get a good perspective of the city, the duet took the ferris wheel for some ethereal viewpoints. Afterwards, some shopping ensued and a drop over to the Sex Museum before taking the Red Light District tour. They planned to take the tour of the museum later, but given they were running late for the RLD tour, planned to do it later. Since Sir Thomas Leaf had done the museum on another visit, was not much of a rush. Over to the Tourist Information center at Central Station, they awaited for the tour guide to arrive. [to be continued … ]